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The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less
by
How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known, unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.
The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.
Did you know, for example, that ...more
The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.
Did you know, for example, that ...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
October 19th 1999
by Crown Business
(first published 1997)
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Start your review of The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less
I give it five out of five but here's the deal. I think the book itself follows the 80/20 rule. 20% of the book gives you 80% of the value. Do this: Read a short definition of the 80/20 rule on the web. Skip to chapter 9 and begin reading the book. Stop when you finish chapter 11. Read 13 and then skim the rest of the book.
So if you do that the book is 5 out of 5 stars and if you read the whole thing I'd give it like 2.5 stars. ...more
So if you do that the book is 5 out of 5 stars and if you read the whole thing I'd give it like 2.5 stars. ...more
You'd think that someone who champions efficiency would write a book that wasn't so full of repetition and assumptions.
Just read the summary. Do that, and you get 95% of the book's benefit in only 0.01% of the time! I think Koch would be proud. ...more
Just read the summary. Do that, and you get 95% of the book's benefit in only 0.01% of the time! I think Koch would be proud. ...more
Why You Should Read It: The principles in this book can literally add hours to your days and compound your happiness. It’s worth a look. What’s more important than having time?
Average Read Time: 4.5 Minutes
We’ve all surely heard of the 80/20 Principle, or Pareto’s Law as it’s more formally known. It goes something like this:
80% of the results come from 20% of the effort.
It’s often thrown around in business as nothing more than a buzzword. Few actually do a full 80/20 analysis of their business a ...more
Average Read Time: 4.5 Minutes
We’ve all surely heard of the 80/20 Principle, or Pareto’s Law as it’s more formally known. It goes something like this:
80% of the results come from 20% of the effort.
It’s often thrown around in business as nothing more than a buzzword. Few actually do a full 80/20 analysis of their business a ...more
Apr 22, 2012
C
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to C by:
50 Self-Help Classics
Shelves:
business,
non-fiction
This book is a truly enlightening and motivating look at productivity, time management, and happiness. It shows how to apply the 80/20 Principle to your personal and professional life in order to work less, earn more, enjoy more, and achieve more. The main idea: in business and personal life, “pursue those few things where you are amazingly better than others and that you enjoy most,” and eliminate or outsource everything else. This has immediately become one of my favorite self-improvement book
...more
I get it. 80% results from 20% effort. I got it before reading this book. Nothing new was shared, there's not really much more to it than that.
I read 100 pages of un-credited examples, made up company names and far reaching generalizations. The point was made through the title alone. The table of contents added some details and ideas on where this phenomena can be found, but really, there was nothing profound here outside of 80/20 itself.
I skimmed the last half of the book hoping something woul ...more
I read 100 pages of un-credited examples, made up company names and far reaching generalizations. The point was made through the title alone. The table of contents added some details and ideas on where this phenomena can be found, but really, there was nothing profound here outside of 80/20 itself.
I skimmed the last half of the book hoping something woul ...more
Genre: Business, Efficiency
Publication Date: 1997
This book is a mentally stimulating one. The 80/20 rule suggest to simplify things in business and in life. He says that 80% of our achievements (outputs) comes from 20-25% efforts(inputs).
The author also offers the opposing points of view for the 80/20 rule, which involves savouring all of the moment and life. This is a separate chapter and has a lot of valid points and contrast of opinions, which can give us a bigger picture of the 80/20 princi ...more
Publication Date: 1997
This book is a mentally stimulating one. The 80/20 rule suggest to simplify things in business and in life. He says that 80% of our achievements (outputs) comes from 20-25% efforts(inputs).
The author also offers the opposing points of view for the 80/20 rule, which involves savouring all of the moment and life. This is a separate chapter and has a lot of valid points and contrast of opinions, which can give us a bigger picture of the 80/20 princi ...more
For those proclaiming this book to be life-saver, you will be in for a shock to know that what this book expounds is but only one among gazillion other data analysis methods.
Let me explain, there is data and there is information. What you do to the data and in appropriate context makes it information. What the author has expounded in this book is that ‘a little of something causes so much of everything” or rather has stamped an approval (it was not his original idea, remember, only the name “80 ...more
Let me explain, there is data and there is information. What you do to the data and in appropriate context makes it information. What the author has expounded in this book is that ‘a little of something causes so much of everything” or rather has stamped an approval (it was not his original idea, remember, only the name “80 ...more
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There's a good side to this book and there's a bad side to this book. Good side first. Ever since reading the book I've put 80/20 thinking to use, that is to say that cause and effect are rarely linked in an equal way. 80% of the world's energy is consumed by 15% of the world's people, 80% of hospital costs come from 20% of the patients, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your products etc. It's not so much the "80" and "20" that are the point with this book, it's the theme that the inputs are n
...more
Unfortunately an illustration of its own principle: 20% valuable content with a lot of padding and assumptions.
Kudos to Koch for brave honesty in the end section discussing critiques of the original edition – even printing some negative reviews in full – and responding to them.
Kudos to Koch for brave honesty in the end section discussing critiques of the original edition – even printing some negative reviews in full – and responding to them.
While not brilliant, it's a pretty good read, however I read a summary, as the book itself suggests when picking up a book like this.
I liked the fact that It did have some interesting points that could actually be used in real life. Give it a shot. ...more
I liked the fact that It did have some interesting points that could actually be used in real life. Give it a shot. ...more
Amazing principle. Very valuable book, but you can easily skip 30-50% of it.
The book ultimately proves its own theory. 20% of the book comprises about 80% of the content. The rest is repetition.
Some interesting arguments are made. This book is definitely more business minded, though I would say it’s still worth a read for anyone looking to make a time revolution at home. I’m a bit skeptical if this theory is truly relevant to ALL jobs. It seems to me that the lower you are on the corporate ladder, the less likely the 80/20 principle can be utilized practically in your “ ...more
Some interesting arguments are made. This book is definitely more business minded, though I would say it’s still worth a read for anyone looking to make a time revolution at home. I’m a bit skeptical if this theory is truly relevant to ALL jobs. It seems to me that the lower you are on the corporate ladder, the less likely the 80/20 principle can be utilized practically in your “ ...more
How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known, unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.
The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.
Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work w ...more
The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.
Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work w ...more
I agree with 80/20 as a short-term philosophy to make money or get ahead in business or at work. I also always have wholeheartedly believed in permanently cutting personal relationships that are negative or draining. But as I was getting towards the end of the book completely won over by its business teachings I wavered a bit as I thought about a business that has fully adopted 80/20, the movie industry. Now the only movies that get made are super hero, sci-fi, and animation. I have been to the
...more
Mar 22, 2017
Eugene
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
startups,
2017-to-read
another great book from Richard Koch on 80/20 principle discovered by Paretto and how it actually applies in the business, personal life and investments. While almost everybody knows about the principle it is not that easy to be apply the non-linear thinking and focus on the most important 1-20% and omit the remains. The book teaches what can be done specifically to apply the principle. Some parts intersects with "Simplify!" book.
...more
Skimmed through most of the book. Few chapters are really good. Chapter 9-11, 13.
The 80/20 rule also applies to this book. Reading the first chapter gives you the basis for the rest of the book!
The 80/20 Principle: (7.7/10)
"It is not the shortage of time that should worry us, but the tendency for the majority of time to be spent in low-quality ways"
This book had been sitting on my shelf for the past 6 years - I think every half year I read a couple chapters lol these nonfiction books are simply not binge-a-ble for me.
In summary, the 80/20 Principle (aka the Pareto Principle) is an economic concept based on a simple message: 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. Koch aims to prove t ...more
"It is not the shortage of time that should worry us, but the tendency for the majority of time to be spent in low-quality ways"
This book had been sitting on my shelf for the past 6 years - I think every half year I read a couple chapters lol these nonfiction books are simply not binge-a-ble for me.
In summary, the 80/20 Principle (aka the Pareto Principle) is an economic concept based on a simple message: 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. Koch aims to prove t ...more
A classic book with excellent message that needs to be read following the 80/20 principle too.
80% of outcomes is from 20% causes of the 100% privileged.
I had to quit fast once the audio guy started talking of the data - the 'dah-ter' - following his rendition of a rap featuring the 80/20 principles.
If you're looking for profit and success, tally ho, off you go.
I'll turn off this road back to inquiry, community and wellbeing. ...more
I had to quit fast once the audio guy started talking of the data - the 'dah-ter' - following his rendition of a rap featuring the 80/20 principles.
If you're looking for profit and success, tally ho, off you go.
I'll turn off this road back to inquiry, community and wellbeing. ...more
Some interesting ideas and some claims out of proportion in my humble opinion. I let you find out what is what for yourself.
Good principle. 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people or 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. The challenge is how to identify what the 20% is for any situation.
This book is a boring snooze. Feel like I wasted my money
The author himself would likely agree that 80% of the insights are in 20% of the book. There are some good points and some good chapters, but an enormous amount of filler content.
Chapters 9,10 and 13 were the ones I found useful.
Chapters 9,10 and 13 were the ones I found useful.
Brilliant book. Can help the reader do wonders by just realizing that most input and outputs have a natural imbalance in their relationship.
I personally liked the part two of the book's contents. Which covers the application of the principle in Business.
A must read for entrepreneurs indeed. ...more
I personally liked the part two of the book's contents. Which covers the application of the principle in Business.
A must read for entrepreneurs indeed. ...more
Aug 21, 2011
Walter
marked it as to-read
This book takes the "work smarter not harder principle" and runs with it, expands it. The central premise is that there is likely a huge imbalance in the effectiveness of your actions (for example, 20% of what you do may be producing 80% of your results) and you should learn what that 20% is - what it tells you about what you are best suited to do - and double and triple down.
There are a lot of chapters that discuss situations in businesses very different from what I do that weren't as engaging ...more
There are a lot of chapters that discuss situations in businesses very different from what I do that weren't as engaging ...more
It's OK, but rather repetitive and long-winded at times. The basic point is good and useful: different activities give different value, so it can be useful to focus on the stuff that is most useful and stop doing the other crap. It applies to economics, software development, and all kinds of other areas of life.
As the author mentions, the 80/20 principle is well-known in certain disciplines, including software development (which I have experience in), so the basic concepts were not so radical or ...more
As the author mentions, the 80/20 principle is well-known in certain disciplines, including software development (which I have experience in), so the basic concepts were not so radical or ...more
Probably the worst business book I have ever read.
90% of it fluffing and regurgitating the concept (without even explaining it - 80% of X is 20% of Y is not an explanation). Do we want talk about the last chapters where it completely goes off the tangent? The methods to achieve happiness? What about the chapter where he praises himself by cherry picking reviews from Amazon?
It's ok to cut corners?
I'd say 100 pages of the book where about him giving advice with no solid credentials for saying th ...more
90% of it fluffing and regurgitating the concept (without even explaining it - 80% of X is 20% of Y is not an explanation). Do we want talk about the last chapters where it completely goes off the tangent? The methods to achieve happiness? What about the chapter where he praises himself by cherry picking reviews from Amazon?
It's ok to cut corners?
I'd say 100 pages of the book where about him giving advice with no solid credentials for saying th ...more
This book presents the theory of imbalance. Once you get acquainted with the general idea, it should be easy for you to spot the correlation between cause and effect in anything you do.
Whether you will find the book insightful and its ideas relevant will greatly depend on the way you read. True, the book gets quite repetitive at times so I reckon that you use the very same approach to reading it that the book itself recommends. Get the principle and skip to the chapters that are relevant to you ...more
Whether you will find the book insightful and its ideas relevant will greatly depend on the way you read. True, the book gets quite repetitive at times so I reckon that you use the very same approach to reading it that the book itself recommends. Get the principle and skip to the chapters that are relevant to you ...more
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